On Saturday morning, Delaware County will officially launch its celebration of the 100th Anniversary of America’s Entry into WWI. And it includes a plan to “paint the county red” by planting the iconic, red Flanders Fields Poppies from Delco’s riverside to its Main Line and its Brandywine borders.

This program kicks off at 9 AM in Court Room 1 at the Media Courthouse, and is coordinated by an all-volunteer WWI Centennial Committee, the Destination Delco Tourism Bureau, and Delaware County Council, with the support of Delco veterans groups, historians, and the Penn State Master Gardeners organization.

The courtroom is expected to be standing room only, and even possibly overflow into the outer lobby as attendees will be treated to live patriotic music, veteran and military salutes, WWI reenactors, and guest speakers, including a member of County Council who will read an official proclamation.

The Destination Delco Tourism Bureau will be giving away free “red” Flanders Poppy seed packs and WWI Remembrance garden signs to everyone who wants to help “paint the county red” by planting a poppy garden at their home or business.

“We want Delco residents and businesses to join the more than 150 gardens, parks, historic sites, hotels, and individuals that have already signed up to plant poppy gardens, and be part of this salute to local men and women who served in the war or in the war effort here at home,” said Tore Fiore, Destination Delco’s executive director.

The idea for the poppy gardens came to Fiore from the famous WWI poem about the death of soldiers at Flanders Fields.

“Delco is famous for being part of the Garden Capital of the United States, so how better to honor the Delco residents who served and sacrificed in WWI than by planting Flanders Poppies throughout our towns and neighborhoods?” asked Fiore.

A new website has also been created by the bureau to support Delco’s entire WWI Remembrance Project. The recently launched http://www.wwonedelco.com/ is updated weekly and features all types of information related to Delco’s WWI spring and summer activities, including:

• a list of libraries, nurseries, and other county locations where residents can pick up free Poppy Seed Packs and garden signs
• a list of Delaware County parks, gardens, government buildings, hotels, inns, and individual residents who have already signed on to plant the red poppies in remembrance of Delco’s connections, both personal and economic, to WWI
• info on future events, including Poppy Garden Driving Tours, Historic Site Tours, film screenings, lectures, dances, and more.
• articles on local cemeteries, businesses, and war efforts that impacted or were connected in some way to WWI
• poppy planting and nurturing stories by Delco’s Penn State Master Gardeners
• and you’ll meet “Shakespeare” on the website and at many upcoming WWI events throughout the spring and summer! Shakespeare is a Bouvier des Flandres, a breed of dog whose ancestors were trained as Mercy Dogs and Messenger Dogs during WWI. They were large enough to pull a cart filled with medical supplies, and command messages to the foxholes and trenches on the combat field. They were even trained to transport wounded soldiers from the battlefield to the medic tent. This breed almost became extinct because they not only were doing dangerous work in active combat areas, they were also bred in this region, and were killed just as the people living at the heart of this war zone were killed.

For more event information, call Barbara Lehman, Communications Director for Destination Delco, at 610-565-3679.

[uam_ad id=”50738″]